Transport in Nottingham

Nottingham is the seventh largest conurbanation in the United Kingdom. Despite this, the city had a poor transportation system in the 1980s. Due to this, the government have recently invested a lot of money in the transportation network of Nottingham, which has lead to the re-opening of the Robin Hood Line and the construction of a light rail network, Nottingham Express Transit.

Rail

History

The first station in Nottingham opened in 1839. It was opened by the Midland Counties Railway and was built on Carrington Street. It was served by trains to Derby. By 1848, the station was too small and a new through station was built in Nottingham by the Midland Railway (which was formed when the Midland Counties Railway merged with two other companies). New destinations such as Lincoln received direct service to Nottingham.

In 1900, the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway opened Nottingham Victoria station, as part of their new line to London which they were building. The station was served by Great Central sevices to Marylebone station in London. The Great Northern Railway also used the station.

In 1904, the Midland Railway closed their station in Nottingham and opened a new one, Nottigham Midland station, which is still open today.

In the 1967, Nottingham Victoria station, which like the rest of the Great Central main line, had been becoming run down and was suffering from lack of services, was closed. Nottingham Arkwright Street railway station, also on the Great Central main line, closed in 1969.

Current Services

There are currently services from Nottingham operated by East Midlands Trains to London, Leeds, Sheffield, Liverpool, York, Doncaster and Scarborough. Most trains run on the Midland Main Line. East Midlands Trains also operate local services. CrossCountry operate services to Cardiff via Birmingham and Bristol.

Robin Hood Line

The Robin Hood Line is a railway line running from Nottingham to Worksop, Nottinghamshire. It was closed to passengers following the Beeching cuts in the 1960s. However, it was reopened to passengers in stages between 1993 and 1998. Currently there is no Sunday service although one is planned.

Future Developments

There are plans to redevelop the station which include more shops and Nottingham Express Transit trams running over the top of the station. [ [http://www.bdp.co.uk/urbanism/work/nottinghamstation/default.asp BDP | Urbanism ] ]

Trams

History

The Nottingham and District Tramways Company Limited began operating horse drawn trams in Nottingham in 1875. A steam tram service began in 1880. In 1898, the Nottingham Corporation Tramways replaced the existing tramways. Eletric trams were later introduced. The tram network in Nottingham was eventually replaced by a motor bus network. The last tram ran in 1936.

Nottingham Express Transit

Nottingham Express Transit (or in short NET) is a light-rail system. The first line opened on 9 March 2004, having cost £200 million to construct. The scheme took 16 years from conception to implementation. There is currently only one line, which has two branches. The line is fourteen kilometers long, of which four kilometers is on street. Some of the line runs parallel to the Robin Hood Line. Tickets can be bought at major stations or from a conductor on the tram. Nottingham Express Transit has been the only new tram network in the UK to have been an instant success.

Future

There are two more lines [ [http://www.netphasetwo.com/ NottinghamExpressTransit :: Phase Two Developmen ] ] of Nottingham Express Transit planned. Line 2, the Clifton route will serve the south of the city. Line 3 will serve the south west of the city.

Roads

Nottingham is close to the M1 motorway and major roads the A52 and the A46. To the west of Nottingham through to Derby, the A52 is known as Brian Clough Way.

Air

East Midlands Airport in Leicestershire, served by low-cost international airlines, makes the city easily accessible from other parts of the world providing daily services to many principal European destinations such as Paris, Frankfurt, Berlin, Oslo and Amsterdam, internal flights to Edinburgh and Belfast and limited services to trans-continental destinations such as Barbados, Mexico, Sanford and Florida. Nearby Robin Hood Airport Doncaster Sheffield also provides domestic European and Trans-Atlantic services. Birmingham International airport is about one hour's drive away and 2 hours 15 minutes on the train, providing flights to most principal European cities, New York, Boston, Toronto, Montreal, Dubai and the Indian sub-continent.

Bus

Bus transport is becoming a more common form of transport in Nottingham. Nottingham City Transport (NCT) operate the majority of bus services in the city. NCT was the first transport operator in the UK to use RFID technology for its EasyRider bus passes, introduced in 2000. The two operators are also frequent winners of the National Bus Operator of the Year award. Also new Shoplink services operated by Premiere Travel. Also Veolia (Dunn-Line)operate in Nottingham as well.

References